SBR Search Results: matchbook

Sportsbook news results for the search term: matchbook

A Marathonbet Sportsbook (SBR rating B-) player has filed a complaint with SBR. The player also blogged his feedback on the SBR Sportsbook & Industry section, detailing that his account is presently locked after a €1360 wager on a football match between FSV Frankfurt and RB Leipzig. The player's wager was on the under 2.5 goals. | Marathonbet complaint

Sportsbook Review reported on a Matchbook (SBR rating B+) player had difficulty withdrawing his $9,200 closing balance following the betting exchanges' exit from the Canadian market on 21 July 2014. The case had a unique set of facts where the player actually left Canada prior to the exit and temporarily relocated to the US, where Matchbook does not allow accounts. | Complaint summary

Ladbrokes (SBR rating A) will exit the Canadian market. SBR readers reported receiving an email notice this morning from the UK sportsbook informing them of the change. Canadian players will no longer be able to register, deposit, or use any of the Ladbrokes products as of 1 October 2014. Ladbrokes players must complete pending bonus rollover requirements before this time: The letter from the betting site indicates that pending winnings tied to outstanding play-throughs will be forfeited as of Wednesday the 1st. The notice also sternly advises that players will "have 30 days" to withdraw any remaining funds from their accounts. It is not stated what the process is for withdrawing funds after the 30 day time-frame, although SBR has asked the UK sportsbook for comment.

Concerning the reason for the Canadian market exit, Ladbrokes letter stated that they regularly review their ability to offer gaming facilities in countries throughout the world. The last significant Canadian exit came when Matchbook withdrew their services back in July. Prior to this, eWallet provider Skrill ceased processing gambling transactions for Canadian residents at the start of the year.

Sources familiar with sports betting exchange Matchbook (SBR rating B+) tell SBR that the company has no plans to discontinue servicing sports bettors in the United Kingdom ahead of October 1st when the new UK Gambling Law will be in effect. The same sources also said that Matchbook will obtain official licensing ahead of the deadline. Sportsbook Review will continue monitoring the whos-in-and-whos-out as the deadline nears. SBR also expects bookmakers who hold licenses to decide early next year if operating with the hefty new overhead is viable.

Update: The Netbet Sportsbook complaint reported on in the iGaming News video has been resolved. Sportsbook Review reported that a Netbet player complained that his €800+ in winnings were unfairly confiscated after Netbet accused him of violating their terms and conditions due to his having previously created an account in 2012. The account was dormant, and SBR argued that an inactive account which went unused is irrelevant should not cause a funds confiscation to be enforced. While Netbet did not respond to the SBR complaint, the player has confirmed that the betting site reversed their decision and agreed to pay his earned winnings. Sportsbook Review considers the dispute against Netbet closed.

Other topics covered in the online sportsbooks news video include a dispute raised by a player against Matchbook (SBR rating B+). The player is attempting to withdraw a $9,200 balance following Matchbook's exit from the Canadian market as reported by SBR on 21 July 2014. The player's situation was complicated by his leaving Canada for the United States (where he is from originally) one month prior to the Matchbook exit. He intended to travel to another location to resume his play with Matchbook but was advised his closing balance would have to be paid out back to his Canadian bank account. The player has claimed that upon his exit of Canada he closed his bank account. In order to comply with Matchbook's request, he tells SBR that he returned to Canada on 4 August 2014 and opened a new bank account. The player has reported being told he must produce six months worth of banking statements from the newly created account in order to be paid his closing balance. SBR has confirmed through the branch that a non-resident is required to open an account in person; there appears to be no dispute the player is presently in Canada. SBR is asking Matchbook if a notarized letter from the bank itself could allow the player to be paid his closing balance.

A WSEX Sportsbook (SBR rating F) player who lost $7,000 when the online sportsbook closed filed a complaint with SBR this morning. The player had a pending withdrawal for $1,900 since 2009. Player: "I called a million times, they kept telling me that they didn't have a processor to send the payment. Account then was inaccessible from time to time, periods lasting over a month. one of the last times I saw it I still had a pending withdrawal but the account balance was near zero. I phoned and they hung up on me and 2 weeks later the site was down. Crooks." This player is one of more than 250 users who filed sportsbook complaints with SBR against WSEX. The following is a timeline of the sportsbook's payout issues which led up to their eventual closure on April 19, 2013 and subsequent suicide of one of the company co-founders.

2009 - 2010: WSEX debt crosses $250,000 mark
The once well established business was lowered from A- to B+ in April of 2009 when the first signs of payout problems surfaced. Six months later, in October of 2009, WSEX was downgraded to C after the average payout time-frame increased from four to six weeks. At the time, seven players had complaints on file for $30,000. Fast forwarding to March of 2010, WSEX players were owed $43,000. A good deal of controversy was created when management admitted that payout size determined priority in the payouts queue. As news continued to break on the slow service and financial problems, more players decided to request their funds and consequently the delinquent amount reported to SBR quadrupled to $184,104. Three players reported receiving $9,000 in June of 2010, although this came as a virtual drop in the bucket as the debt approached a quarter million dollars. One month later, a $2,000 payment was confirmed as received by an SBR reader while five new complaints rolled in and the debt rose to $260,534. During this time the online sportsbooks' wagering department got froggy; a player reported that WSEX refused to honor a winning $20,000 "Who will sign Lebron?" NBA prop after his trade to the Miami Heat. It seems to players that the sportsbook may have regained its footing when approximately half of their debt was paid with 36 players confirming receiving $124,617 in withdrawals during week four of the NFL season. Unfortunately as the football season winded down, WSEX closed the year owing close to $200,000.

2011 - 2012: WSEX debt rises
The first week of the new year in 2011 saw Matchbook's new ownership announce their official separation from World Sports Exchange. WSEX previously had an ownership stake in Matchbook since their 2005 launch. Despite WSEX's stake in the betting website, Matchbook paid their customers on time and were unaffected by WSEX's issues. Near the end of Q1 2011, WSEX players were owed $438,860. By Christmas 2011, a total of 110 players reported being owed $653,000. On January 24, 2012, WSEX outraged players by releasing a statement shifting blame of their financial predicament onto gaming laws in the US. The statement seemed to be the first sign of a white flag and WSEX continued to dishonestly advertise a payout time-frame of 7 business days on their website. By mid 2012, WSEX owed $825,744. A sportsbook scam alert was issued in October of 2010 when WSEX mailed players deposit bonus offers for the upcoming NBA season despite being blacklisted and unable to pay. This was also covered in a sportsbook news video with newswoman Natalie and then co-host "Justin7".

2013 - Closure: WSEX closes while owing over $1 million
By March of 2013, WSEX owed more than $1 million to players. The occasional small payout reports designed to keep valued customers activated completely stopped. On April 9, 2013, Sportsbook Review reported that WSEX was no longer updating its website with betting odds and their phone system was overloaded with an average wait time of 125 minutes. Within a week WSEX officially closed, and to add insult to injury, WSEX "sinisterly" apologized for their downfall. SBR receives inquiries from WSEX victims weekly. Players often wonder if the book's ownership, which was vocal against rogue operations during more than a 10 year period, will eventually make a statement and reveal what lead to players ultimately being stiffed.

Sports betting exchange Matchbook (SBR rating B+) is exiting the Canadian market. Matchbook management tells SBR that the move is a "business decision" and could not offer more details. Although Canada does not enforce any laws against online gambling and gaming operators have hosted all or parts of their operation there since the beginning of online betting, there have been other recent exits from processing companies known in large part for servicing gaming transactions. Popular eWallet Skrill (formerly known as Moneybookers) ceased accepting gambling transactions from Canadian clients as of 2 January 2014. It has been speculated the reason for the Skrill exit is that they hope to service the United States market as online gambling legalization gains traction; New Jersey and Nevada already have legal online casino gambling. Canadian SBR readers reported receiving an email from Matchbook this morning announcing the exit. Canadian players should begin the process of withdrawing their balances. Outstanding bets will be settled as normal.

Matchbook was established in 2004 under different ownership. UK investors acquired Matchbook February 27, 2011. Within one week of the ownership change, Matchbook withdrew from the US market in March of 2011 as reported by Sportsbook Review. Within one year of the ownership change, Matchbook made significant international focused improvements by supporting currencies EUR, GBP, CDN, HKD, in addition to USD. In addition to spreading markets popular in North America, Matchbook has many international markets including world football and tennis.

Popular betting exchange Matchbook (SBR rating B+) will begin charging commision again on soccer wagers beginning tomorrow, Tuesday April 1st. Matchbook has ran a four month special where football bets were traded at 0% commission. Matchbook has pledged to donate all soccer commissions generated Apil 1 to sporting charity "Right to Play". This means all commissions generated during tomorrow's Champions League Quarter finals will be donated. A charity bet will be given to celebrity athlete and cricket superstar Darren Gough with all proceeds also going to charity.

Popular betting exchange Matchbook (SBR rating B+) is now running a special player incentive promotion through 1 April 2014 that charges punters 0% commission on all soccer wagers. The no commission deal is especially good considering the average betting line at Matchbook is offered with less vigorish than the market average.

Matchbook (SBR rating B+) has rolled out a dedicated app for iPhone. The native application utilizes the same sophisticated betting software from the desktop version. SBR reported this summer that the popular betting exchange made significant updates to their graphical user interface, receiving positive feedback from SBR readers.

Popular betting exchange Matchbook (SBR rating B+) has fully launched its improved website. The user interface has been totally redone and is expected to offer improved navigation. Features include full back/lay betting, the ability to manage bets across all sports from anywhere on the website, and more. Players are encouraged to submit their feedback. | View Pictures

Matchbook, the popular betting exchange, is planning a complete website change. The user interface is more colorful, accomodating for widescreen displays and makes the most of screen real estate. The new software is currently available for testing. Matchbook asks users with feedback to write in via email; alternatively, users can share their feedback on SBR Forum.

SBR newswoman and sportsbook dispute analyst Justin7 provide an Industry News update. In today's video, the pair discuss Matchbook's recent ratings upgrade, a Sportingbet football complaint, as well as more confiscations made by Betway. A closer look is also taken at the role gaming commissions play when disputes arise.

Matchbook (SBR rating B+) announces the launch of their mobile platform. A representative for the popular betting exchange posted on SBR Forum this morning to invite beta testing from users, stating that those who email the best feedback (mobile@matchbook.com) will have a chance at winning one of ten $50 free bets.

Matchbook (SBR rating B) management tells SBR that the betting exchange now offers players the ability to choose their currency. Players were previously limited to accounts in USD. Matchbook now features EUR, GBP, CDN, HKD in addition to USD. | Matchbook press release

Andrew Pantling, CEO of Matchbook.com:

We are very happy to announce that all customers of Matchbook will now be able to bet in currencies other than USD. Since March 2011 , when the company was newly acquired, the growth we have achieved has surprised even us. This further confirms our belief that the industry is crying out for a low commission, betting exchange alternative which delivers value back to the punter. These are exciting times for Matchbook and sports gamblers alike, and will allow us to expand on the growth we've already seen, as well as adding to our position as the number 1 place to bet NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB

Matchbook has been in operation since 2004. The company was acquired in 2011 by UK investors. SBR reported on the Matchbook sale on March 3rd, 2011. Matchbook's goal since the acquisition has been to diversify their European and Asian betting markets. Matchbook management tells SBR that the launch of multiple currencies, as well as plans to launch a multi-lingual platform will further solidify the exchange as a global option.

Matchbook is licensed by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC), as well as an additional licensing from the government of Antigua and Barbuda.

WSEX (SBR rating D-) players are hopeful that the start of the football season will alow the slow-pay sportsbook to get back in the black. WSEX once held a rating of A+ at SportsbookReview in June of 2006. WSEX lost its status as an A-rated sportsbook in April of 2009, and continued to slide through the sportsbook ratings guide until it eventually found itself on the sportsbook blacklist in March of 2011.

WSEX has been the subject of several payment complaint newswires throughout 2010 and 2011. The formerly high-ranked sportsbook was considered one of the industry's most financially sound sportsbooks, even having a hand in the formulation of popular betting exchange Matchbook (SBR rating B). Matchbook officially severred all business ties with WSEX after coming under new ownership, distancing itself from the failing operation.

Sixty-eight WSEX players report $488,233 in delinquent withdrawals. The outstanding requests date back to October of 2009. The last surge of WSEX payouts was recorded during the beginning of the 2010 football season, when WSEX paid $124,617 to players. | Forum discussion: WSEX disputes

Former US-based Matchbook (SBR rating B) players have confirmed receiving $289,621 in payouts since May of 2011. Matchbook withdrew from the US market on February 27th, 2011 following an ownership change. Matchbook's new owners wished to cater its services to European and Asian markets.

Matchbook executives tell SBR that thousands of transactions have been made to US-based players following the February withdrawal. Some setbacks were encountered as a result of the volume of banking transactions to the United States. SBR has no record of outstanding withdrawals, however Matchbook has indicated that a small percentage of players in a unique predicament have not been able to take advantage of some withdrawal methods offered to the majority. SBR asks former Matchbook players with any concerns or payout inquiries to write to help@sportsbookreview.com.

Matchbook (SBR rating B-) players have confirmed receiving five-figure withdrawals. Three more US-based players—who lost the ability to play at Matchbook after the exchange withdrew from the US market—have confirmed receiving $29,443, $32,000, and $35,000 payments.

Two other Matchbook players have $22,460 and $43,000 payouts pending. SBR will update this report as those players confirm payment. | Matchbook policy change

On March 14th, SBR reported that six US-based Matchbook players confirmed receiving payment via credit card. Matchbook withdrew from the US market in February of 2011. At the time of the announcement, Matchbook informed US-based players that they had 31 days to initiate the withdrawal process. | How Matchbook is paying their US players

Parlaymakers (SBR rating F) is the latest sportsbook to collapse without paying their players. The scam sportsbook was downgraded to F by SBR on February 28th after going off-line. Parlaymakers did not provide notice to players that the domain would be taken down, and ceased replying to both players and SBR shortly after the loss of their biggest processor, Gold-Pay.

The niche sportsbook had an unusual business model that allowed players to place teasers and parlays at prices offered by Matchbook (SBR rating B-). On February 20th, SBR published a report advising players to request their funds after communication brokedown from the sportsbook. Parlaymakers "Max" relied on word of mouth to bring in business for the small sportsbook, initially paying players and spamming forums to promote the brand. All future ventures started by Parlaymakers Max and associates will be added to SBR's scam sportsbook blacklist.

Parlaymakers players are asked to submit their details via sportsbook complaint form to SBR. While players are unlikely to be paid in the short-term, SBR has assisted some players in receiving payment from scam sportsbooks that experienced success after rebranding, one such case occurred when Bet33 (SBR rating D-) paid a player who had been stiffed $5,000 following Apex Sportsbook's (SBR rating F) collapse five years prior. | Parlaymakers scam discussion

On February 27th, SBR reported that Matchbook was set to announce exit from the US market. The popular sports betting exchange has announced its official seperation from WSEX Sportsbook (SBR rating D-), and has given US-based account holders instructions on how to request their funds. | Read Matchbook statement

Matchbook (SBR rating B-) is preparing a release to announce both its seperation from WSEX as owner and parent company and the impending exit of the US market. Players within the USA are expected to be unable to use their accounts as soon as tomorrow. Players can check back for more details from Matchbook management on payouts and new business plan. SBR will closely monitor the payout process for US players which will be the company's first major action independent of slow-paying sportsbook WSEX.

Washington State residents are no longer able to ante up at VIP Sports (SBR rating B+), or Matchbook (SBR rating B-). In 2006, the United States SAFE Port Act was enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. The act contained a last minute passage regarding internet gambling, labeled the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). The UIGEA makes it illegal for US banks to process transactions to and from known gambling operators. The act does not state that it is unlawful for citizens to wager online and does not list penalties for doing so. | Full report

SBR has spoken with Matchbook (SBR rating B-) executives and are aware of their plans to become a new independent gaming company. It's been known that WSEX (SBR rating D) had an ownership stake in Matchbook since their launch in 2005. Despite the relationship to date, Matchbook is in good standing and players have not reported any delinquent payout requests. SBR is hopeful the purchase of Matchbook from WSEX will allow outstanding WSEX withdrawals to be processed. Matchbook is expected to provide a press release to SBR in the coming weeks after the ownership changes are solidified.

The Matchbook (SBR rating B-) player from SBR's 12/11 report has confirmed payment. The player was paid $500 to Gold-Pay. On 12/11, the player wrote to SBR indicating that Matchbook was experiencing a technical difficulty in processing payments to Gold-Pay.

A Matchbook (SBR rating B-) player complains that he is currently unable to make a withdrawal. On December 9th, the player requested a $500 withdrawal to Gold-Pay. Matchbook informed the player Gold-Pay was not currently working as a withdrawal option. The player requested, but was denied being paid an alternate method since his deposit was made via Gold-Pay. Matchbook players with withdrawal feedback are asked to write to SportsbookReview.com.

Matchbook (SBR rating B-) software complaint #2. A Matchbook player claims that a software error cost him $770. According to the player, he had open NHL offers on October 28th. At approximately 4pm, the player says he removed all offers since he would be unable to monitor them. Later that night, the player claims he discovered that one of his offers was in fact matched after he had canceled it previously, and his account was debited for a $770 loss. SBR is discussing this dispute with Matchbook.

On 11/1, SBR reported that Matchbook voided $1,267 in winnings after an internet service disruption caused them to cancel certain markets.

Matchbook (SBR rating B-) complaint. On October 25th, a player placed several in-game wagers at Matchbook on the New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys NFL game. The player risked $1000 on the Giants moneyline at +215, which won and was correctly graded as a winner. The next day, Matchbook voided $1267 of his winnings citing an internet service provider disruption.

Matchbook to player:

You submitted a single offer for $1,000 at odds of +214 at 2010-10-25 21:59:05 when the site became available again. This matched two separate customers existing offers. You matched the first customer at odds of +216 for $586.57. The remainder of your wager matched a different customer at odds of +214 for $413.43 at 21:59:05.

We canceled the first part of the wager as the offer had been posted to the site before it became unavailable. That offer was posted at 2010-10-25 21:18:53. The customer was unable to access the site to cancel the wager or edit the odds before it came back up. In these circumstances we would normally cancel all open offers before customers could wager on them. Unfortunately due to the fact that it was an ISP disruption we were unable access the site and cancel all the offers before some of them were matched. As there were a large number of wagers on the Monday night game, it took some time to review all the logs to confirm which offers were placed before the site became unavailable and matched before customers had an opportunity to cancel and update them. We apologize for this delay.

We concluded our investigation of this market and found that a site administrator mishandled the manual close/reopen procedure. Except for live markets, we almost never close and then reopen a market (in this case, it was done in response to a client request). As a result, this procedure was performed manually (and incorrectly, as it happened).

We have refunded the three offers that were affected by this error and have also checked past markets to ensure this has not happened in the past.

Matchbook (SBR rating B-) tells SBR that they are investigating the software errror complaints reported by players on July 13th, where players stated that canceled offers and offers which had expired were matched. SBR will update this report.

I set a market at -168 on Under 8.5 in minn/tb game for $145. About 20 seconds after i made the Market, I canceled it and it was cleared from my unmatched bets slip. 7 minutes later it was matched (after i already cancelled it), I have made all my bets from iphone without a problem. Considering over the past week the site goes down for 5 minutes at a time everyday more then once, i truly believe the problem resides on matchbooks end and i should not be responsible for the error.

The second player to complain of the software also created an offer — David Oritz at -124 prior to the final round of the 2010 Homerun Derby.

Player 2:

I offered David Ortiz at -124 before the final round. My bet went unmatched, and they closed live betting for the event. It said "live betting is no longer available for this event." I checked my account, and it showed the bet as unmatched. Then after the event, I go into my account and see that the bet was matched. I guess they closed betting on the event and then decided to reopen it. I called them and they said that yes, they closed it and then re-opened it.

They can't close betting on an event and make all unmatched bets void, and then re-open the betting and take the unmatched bets and put them back up as offers. This is exactly what happened. This bet should be void.

Matchbook (SBR rating B-) players have reported technical difficulties. Matchbook has confirmed to SBR that users are currently unable to log in. Matchbook was unable to quote an ETA on when the log in process would be fixed, but stated the technical team was working to restore site access as fast as possible.

Matchbook's (SBR rating B-) website and phone lines are currently down. Matchbook has stated the following to SBR:

Matchbook:

The site has been down since 5 pm EST, due to a routing problem at the Cable/Wireless hosting hub in Antigua. We will provide updates as soon as available, and do not expect an extended outage. All mirror sites run through cable & wireless, so they are out as well. Our apologies for the unscheduled downtime. Pls note that all of today's markets will be suspended and flushed of open offers before trading resumes.

BetPhoenix (SBR rating B+) and Youwager (SBR rating B) have agreed to begin book-to-book player transfers. BetPhoenix tells SBR they will soon begin transfers with other major sportsbooks but are no longer transferring to or from Matchbook (SBR rating B-).

Reports were received stating that Matchbook (SBR rating A-) has incorrectly charged players that make offers 0.2% commission per accepted offer for the last seven days. Matchbook's written policy regarding offers is that any player who makes an offer is paid 0.2% for each offer that is accepted, while charging the player that accepts the offer a 1% commission. The policy was enacted on March 17th. SBR will update this report pending Matchbook management addressing the situation.

Matchbook's rule:

From Mar 17, Matchbook has dramatically cut commissions by eliminating our 2% net-win commission system and shifting to a much simpler volume-based one.If you post an offer that is accepted, not only is there no fee, but Matchbook will pay you 0.2%. As demonstrated lately on many financial exchanges, liquidity explodes when people are paid to make offers.

Matchbook (SBR rating A) is currently experiencing distributed denial of service attacks. Matchbook is the latest victim in a string of attacks that began last weekend forcing several high profile sportsbooks to put up mirror sites until the attacks subsided. Players can access Matchbook at http://www2.matchbook.com until the main site is restored. Matchbook has informed SBR that if the backup site were to go down, all current offers would be cancelled.

On July 11, 2009, a Matchbook (SBR rating A) player made an offer of $700 at -140 on CB Dolloway who was fighting Tom Lawlor in an undercard non-televised UFC 100 fight. The market price was approximately -240. The player's wager offer was accepted and and he lost his bet to the accepting player. Tom Lawlor won the match. However, the listed start time was 8pm EST nd bloggers were giving the result of the fight as early as 7:41 p.m. There was a Twitter post by popular MMA writer Mike Chiappetta published at 7:51 p.m. giving the outcome of the fight. SBR and the losing player were able to use the official Twitter timestamp as conclusive proof that the fight was over when the bet order was filled. The player's wager was accepted at 7:52 p.m, after the result of the fight was known. Matchbook aided SBR in the investigation, voided the $700 losing trade, and gave the player commission credits for his inconvenience.

BetPhoenix (SBR rating B) tells SBR they are doing book-to-book transfers with Matchbook (SBR rating A). BetPhoenix says players must call in to make the request and may move their balance to and from BetPhoenix. Incoming funds will have a two time rollover requirement. Matchbook has a one time play-through requirement on incoming funds.

SBR Forum Posters' poll: Top 5 Sportsbooks - March 2009 During the month of March posters were asked to list their Top 3 Sportsbooks. Six points were awarded for the first choice, four points for second place and three points for third. Only voters with 25 or more posts were counted in the final tally. Congratulations to the Top 5 point earners including BetJamaica (SBR rating A+) which took over the top position from Matchbook (SBR rating A). This was SBR's first poster's poll of 2009 (August 2008 results).

Betting Barack Obama or John McCain? SBRforum writer Elihu Feustel takes a look at finding value betting the 2008 election.
With the last few elections being nail-biters going down to the wire, the 2008 election is getting a lot of betting interest across the world. As of October 5, the democrats have an advantage. The polls show a moderate lead for the Barack Obama in Michigan, and smaller leads in Ohio and Florida. The betting markets favor the democrats more decisively. Matchbook’s offers of -315/+292 and TheGreek’s prices of -360/280 suggest about a 75% chance of a democratic victory. These prices are consistent with what the polls show – electoral-vote.com indicates that Obama has a lead of 329 to 194 electoral votes if the election happened today.
Read

During the month of August posters were asked to list their Top 3 Sportsbooks. Five points were awarded for the first choice, four points for second place and three points for third. Only voters with 25 or more posts were counted in the final tally. Congratulations to the Top 5 point earners including 5Dimes (SBR rating A) which entered the top 5 for the first time with 125 total points. This was SBR's first poster's poll of 2008 (2007 results).

Super Bowl Opening Line: New England Patriots -13SBRodds.com currently shows a range of NE Patriots -12.5 (-105) at 5Dimes (SBR rating A) to NY Giants +13.5 (-116) at Matchbook (SBR rating A-). Players can expect to see some movement through tomorrow morning as early bettors help the line settle across the board. Players can monitor the Super Bowl lines at SBRodds.

SBR’s Sports Betting Rules Monitor: Sportsbooks react to rainout in Yankees vs. Orioles game on June 28th, 2007. For wagering purposes Baltimore was graded as a 6-4 winner despite the game being suspended in the top of the 8th due to weather with the Yankees leading 8-6. Many New York bettors requested clarification from clerks, prompting the sportsbooks to update and/or clarify wagering rules.

Matchbook (SBR rating A-) updates baseball wagering rules
Matchbook adds text stating moneyline wagers on baseball games that are suspended will be graded based on the score of the last full inning, should play be halted in the top half of the inning with the home team trailing.

BetOnline (SBR rating B+) clarifies baseball moneyline grading
BetOnline removes irrelevant text about the game being official for grading purposes after 8.5 (if home team is winning) or 9 innings, leaving text stating moneyline baseball bets are official after 5 complete innings or 4.5 innings if the home team is winning.

BetPlatinum (SBR rating C-) removes contradicting wording to clarify that MLB games must go 4.5 (if home team is winning) or 5 innings to declare moneyline winner; removes text suggesting 9 innings of play is required for all grading.

SBRforum Posters choose top 5 sportsbooks
During the month of May posters were asked to give their Top 3 Sportsbooks. Three points were awarded for the first choice, two points for second place and one point for third. Only voters with 100 or more posts were counted in the final tally. Congratulations to the Top 5 point earners including Pinnacle (SBR rating A+) which led the way with 23 first place votes and 72 total points.

BetBug (SBR rating C+) is owned by Trident Gaming, which sold Gamebookers (SBR rating B-) to PartyGaming in August of last year. Despite innovative download-required software and a 2006 marketing campaign, BetBug was unable to capture targeted U.S. business and compete with exhange-style books, Mansion and Matchbook.

BetBug.com:While we continue to believe that BetBug’s true peer-to-peer software does abide by all major Federal gaming laws in the United States, the current legal environment seriously deters our chances of success. We hope to be able to reintroduce the software to the public at a later date.

Mansion (SBR rating B) steers players toward "exchange style" sports betting. Players entering the sportsbook today were stunned to see Mansion offering full vig prices. Reduced pricing will now be offered only in the betting exchange as their traditional sportsbook division is phased out. It is likely that exchange-style wagering will be Mansion’s sole betting offering by the NFL regular season.

The exchange functions much like a normal sportsbook except players have the ability to see how much money the book will take at the current odds before the line is moved. Matchbook (SBR rating B-) uses a similar betting interface. Below is the response sent to players who inquired about the changes:

"Thank you for your inquiry. There has been a change in pricing offered on our Sportsbook and you may be wondering how to find the same value you have come to expect from MANSION. The good news is, MANSION is still offering the same value by posting these prices through our Sports Exchange.We have made modifications to our exchange interface to make it more user friendly for customers who are comfortable buying from a sportsbook. MANSION Sportsbook, like many other MANSION Sports Exchange members, will offer our low margin / high limit odds through the new Sports Exchange interface. If you are interested only in “buying” a position on an event, the Sports Exchange is simply a new sportsbook interface. If you would like to have a position on an event at odds that you do not see offered on the Sports Exchange then you may want to join the many MANSION Members who have discovered the benefits of acting as a “seller”.Try our Sports Exchange – you’ll be glad you did. If you require any assistance we are here to help 24/7. Thank you for betting with MANSION.MANSION Customer Service"

There will be no need to refresh the page on SBR Odds. This first ever FREE web page application will show odds movement as they are changed by bookmakers in *REAL TIME. SBR Odds welcomes Mansion (SBR rating B), as the latest sponsors to join the page. Current sponsors include: WWTS, Pinnacle, CRIS, Hollywood107, 5Dimes, Canbet, VIP, BetJamaica, Bowmans, Mansion and Matchbook. www.sbrodds.com*SBROdds will be between 0 and 10 seconds delayed depending on server speeds and other variables.

Matchbook is a new betting exchange that is funded by the ownership of WSEX (SBR rating A). The exchange aims to offer the American sports bettor the ability to wager via peer-to-peer with the same ease of making a wager at a regular sportsbook. Matchbook has developed its own software and says they have focused on simplicity and functionality. Like all betting exchanges, the quality of the playing experience will be dependant on Matchbook’s ability to attract players and an active trading market. This operation is still in its infant stages.Player funds are backed by the same investment group behind WSEX and players are able to make transfers between Matchbook and WSEX at no charge. However, Matchbook holds its own gaming license and has separate operational, customer service and management teams.